I could feel it…
Wider and Wider the Country Grew…
Faster and Faster the Engine Flew…
Louder and Louder the Thunder Crashed…
Brighter and Brighter the Lightning Flashed…
With a start, Oliver Vance woke up.
He found himself lying on a warm platform in a black void. He shot up in a sitting position, glancing around him only to jump to his feet. He was on some sort of strange stained glass platform, it filled him with a strange mixture of dread and familiarity.
The Image was himself, sleeping. Above him were three circles that swirled together in a triangle pattern, each one held a symbol. A hammer, an alchemic circle, and a Mask. In his hand, hanging beneath him, was a strange looking weapon. Some sort of key?
You'll meet so many terrible things, yet I see within you such love.
"Who said that!?" The young halfling boy called out into the void searching for some sort of source for the voice.
One cannot gain something without first giving up something of greater or equal value in return.
Oliver steadied himself as the ground began to shake as three stone pedestals rose up from the stained glass. He ran as far as he could, his dark gray feet tripped over themselves as he nearly tumbled over the edge of the platform. A sword, A shield, and a Quarterstaff appear floating above the pedestals.
This is the Law of Equivalent Exchange.
The voice repeated itself from everywhere and nowhere and the young jinx shouted out as he hid his pale gray face as the voices stopped. He opened his eyes, still in the strange dream. He slowly stood and turned around.
"You want me to give something up?" Oliver thought for a moment, trying to figure out what the voice meant. His eyes landed on the floating items.
"You want me to give up one of these?"
The young boy received no answer.
Oliver sighed, he supposed that shields were pretty lame so he walked over to the strange floating shield, bearing the symbol of a hammer.
The power of the Paladin.
Faithful, Steadfast, Stubborn.
A shining defense against the darkest shadows.
Is this what you Exchange?
Oliver let the shield float up into the air and fade away. The pedestal beneath lurched, and with only a moment to spare he leapt from the stone before it crumbled away. He landed on his butt, as a third of the stained glass platform crumbled away.
What do you seek to gain?
Oliver stood and shook his head, before glancing between the two remaining items. He walked over to the quarter staff, and held it briefly.
The power of the Sorcerer.
Wild, Untamed, Infinite Potential.
The Weave of magic is yours to sew anew.
Is the the power you seek to gain?
He returns the staff to the pedestal before making his way over to the sword.
"Alright, this one looks kinda cool…" Oliver picks up the sword.
The power of the Bearer.
Loyal, Versatile, A flower that blooms in the afternoon.
All of the worlds will open for the right key.
Is this the power you seek to gain?
All of the world. How many worlds were there? He wondered. This strange dream had him fully entranced now, as Oliver lifted the sword into the sky, yellow lightning slammed into the sword. Oliver's eyes adjusted as the brightness subsided as he heard the jingle of a chain.
The sword was gone, in its place was a strange black oversized key. The top end had teeth that jutted and curled out like an axehead, and the black crossguard wrapped vertically around the hilt, the front guard the shape of black lightning, the back guard was black flame.
A chain hung from the pommel of the strange keyblade that bore a strange medallion that bore the symbol of a flaming axehead.
The stained glass platform beneath Oliver suddenly gave way as he screamed into the void.
Destiny will Haunt you.
Unity will Save you.
Duty will Call to you.
And it will be on you to answer.
He could see another stained glass platform, one bearing the image of an ork fighting a white dragon. He pointed the keyblade down toward the platform and shouted out words of mystical power that he learned in school.
"Thuit iteag!"
His descent slowed down and he was able to right himself and land gently on his feet. He looked up into the void, his vision blurred for a moment, as from the shadows a large onyx colored monster emerged. It's beady yellow eyes locked with his, and it roared as Oliver screamed in terror.
Have no fear, young one. You are capable of infinite creativeness. You are the maker of your destiny.
"Teine!" Oliver shouted as he pointed his keyblade at the monster and a small blast of fire launches out blasting the shadow monster in the face causing it to roar and howl in pain. As it rears it's head toward Oliver, he felt a wave of fear wash over him before he sprinted off towards the void.
One day soon, you'll see your true power.
The creature howls and slams Oliver off of the platform as he screams out to no avail. He tumbled off into the inky black void, no magic or spell could save him. He tumbled end over end, was there ever an up or down? All direction was meaningless as he tumbled into nothing. A wave of relaxation overtook him as he felt himself slowly awakening from the nightmare.
"Wake up 'Umie. Move real slow like."
James Elery awoke with a start, nearly impaling himself on an orkish blade.
"Bwuh-What the fuck!?"
"Yeah take it easy mate or I'll gut ya like a hagfish. Now get up real slow like."
James did as the large ork told him, getting up slowly as he glanced around the camp he was sleeping in. His travelling companion, A red haired dwarf with a small scraggly beard clad in chain mail.
"Randor you wanna explain what the fuck is going on?" The dwarf tried to pull a way from an ork tugging on the dwarf's red curling locks.
"Well ya see lad-"
"Ah ah, I'll answer that."
A well toned half orc stood in the center of a group of five orks that James was pushed to his knees in front of. He glares up at the half orc for a moment.
"...Well Toothy?"
The meaty ork fist slammed into James's head causing a wave of pain to slam through him.
"My name is Vakmu. My people are looking for a new home. We've been driven out of our native land by a dragon so we're kindly accepting your charitable donation of all of your valuables."
James smirks before slowly standing.
"Well I ain't got nothing more valuable then my smokes. And you can't give someone smokes without sharin' one don't you agree?" James said as he slowly pulled a small case out. He opened it up and pulled out a pungent smelling rolled cigar. It was a green leaf with spots of purple and brown.
"Of course friend smoke yer last, though you try anything I'll kill you and your partner over here." Vakmu smirked as he focused a sphere of black energy into his hand before aiming at Randor.
"Hil deg metallfader, avvis dine kritikere fra din hellige tjener. I ditt navn kjemper jeg, Morradin." The dwarf muttered to himself as James lit his cigars.
"Ya know, not to criticize your methods or anything. But if I was robbin' people. I'd do two things you haven't."
Vakmu glanced back to see three of his orks, buried up their necks in the dirt. He glanced back, to see James drag his cigar to cinders before clapping his hands around the smoke. In a flash of lightning, a blade formed in James's hands and he lunges at the half-orc, slicing him across the left eye.
"Rarhggh! Piss!" Vakmu covered his face as James rolled away from the recovering half orc.
"Brenne opp!" A blast of light erupted from the dwarf sending the ork running with severe burns.
"Ya beasties ain't runnin' a flintbrow out of Phandalin ever again! Morradin sees to that, ya wankers!" Randor shouted as he stood and dusted himself off.
Vakmu whirled around and snarled before aiming the energy he had gathered.
"This isn't the last time you'll see from me. If that dragon don't kill ya, I WILL!" He fired off a beam of onyx energy toward James.
The ground rumbled briefly as a wall of dirt colored stone shot out of the ground, cracking under the pressure of the attack.
"Thank you Kame, took ya long enough."
The stone wall receded into the ground, as James glanced back at the golden automaton that had laced the earth infront of him.
"I was quick-chasing a squirrel. Your half-orc friend is gone by the by." The warforged was clad in shining golden armor, his face was strangely segmented as if the face was made up of a mask he wore, but it moved and shifted as any humanoid face would. The whirs and clicks of internal components radiated off of him with every movement.
James saw that the orkz left unburied had fled, including Vakmu.
"Was that the welcoming party, Randor?" James asked as the three set about packing up their small camp.
"Nay, friend. The new Phandalin is primarily Earthkin, those brutes come from the mountains. They mentioned a dragon didn't they?"
"Yeah they did, this town might be worth staying in for a week or two. We'll see if they got a quest board." James spoke flatly as they packed up and they began walking south to Phandalin.
